A New Year's Kiss
by LovelyLadiiZ
Summary: "He tried to convince himself it was nothing more than a silly tradition. Yet the more he contemplated the subject, the more he found he wanted to share that 'silly tradition' with Calleigh." DuCaine Romance. First in the 'Love Never Fails' series.


Author's Note: This is my very first DuCaine fanfiction, written as a fic accompaniment to my _DuCaine AUs_ photoset series on Tumblr. (There's a link at the bottom of my fanfiction profile for those of you who want to see the DuCaine blog).

This is set post season 10, at the end of 2012. It's a one-shot, but I may consider doing more fic accompaniments to my blog posts if I see that people are interested in them.

I hope you all enjoy!

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A New Year's Kiss

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There was only a single hour until the New Year. The employees of the Miami-Dade Police Department and Crime Lab spent their final hours of 2012 on a yacht about ten miles off the coast of Miami Beach; a New Year's extravaganza hosted by the MDPD captain. This was one of the many social events the captain had planned for the coming year.

Lieutenant Horatio Caine wasn't exactly a social butterfly, yet he tagged along with the rest of his team anyhow. Walter, Ryan, Natalia, Eric, and Calleigh were scattered throughout the spacious yacht, mingling with their colleagues over cocktails.

Horatio stole a glance of his second in command from across the crowded room. She wore a black one-shouldered gown, and her golden locks were swept into an updo. In Horatio's eyes, she looked absolutely beautiful, as always.

The redhead strolled up to the rest of his dayshift team in mid-conversation. The group congregated around the bar, sipping their drinks and laughing.

"So which one of you are gonna give me my New Year's kiss?" Walter jested, slurring his words slightly as he was already a bit tipsy.

"Don't look at me," Natalia said almost automatically.

"Me either," Calleigh replied, glancing down to her strawberry martini in her hand. "It's a silly tradition."

Ryan gave Walter a comforting pat on the shoulder, though his words didn't match his gesture. "I think you'll have better luck asking someone from grave shift… Most of them are desperate and alone."

Eric and Ryan burst into laughter while Walter gave his colleague a heavy-handed swat on the shoulder for teasing him.

Calleigh glanced up from her glass to see Horatio standing behind Ryan. He was wearing a black suit with a black and grey striped tie. It was the first time in a while she'd seen him wear a tie, and she had to admit it was a nice touch.

"Hey, Horatio," the blonde greeted her supervisor.

A chorus of "Hey, H"s followed, along with Eric exclaiming, "Told you he'd come! Walter, you owe me twenty bucks."

"Tonight's just not my night," Walter murmured.

A techno-remixed-hip-hop song began playing, and some of the CSIs hopped up from their seats.

"Dance with me, Nat," Walter said, taking hold of Natalia's arm and dragging her onto the dance floor. Ryan gave Calleigh a come here gesture, and the two followed Natalia and Walter to dance. Eric went to find a dance partner from the nightshift team, leaving the redheaded lieutenant by his lonesome at the bar.

Horatio gazed at his coworkers on the dance floor, focusing more on Calleigh than anyone else. Truth be told, the sole reason why he came that night was so that he could spend more time with her. He found that over the past few years, he and Calleigh weren't as close as they used to be. He found himself missing their borderline flirtatious banters that they shared when he first replaced Megan Donner as lieutenant. Somewhere between Marisol and Julia, and Jake and Eric, Horatio and Calleigh just went their separate ways.

"Thirty minutes until 2013!" the DJ announced in between songs.

A mere thirty minutes separated them all from 2013. Horatio ordered a scotch on the rocks and glanced back at Calleigh, who had changed dance partners and was slow-dancing with someone from grave shift. Horatio found himself wishing he was the one who was holding Calleigh in his arms, slow-dancing the final moments of 2012 away. When midnight finally came, they would share a new year's kiss…

Horatio immediately shook that thought away. There was no way that would happen, no way that Calleigh would want to kiss him. He tried to convince himself it was nothing more than a silly tradition. Yet the more he contemplated the subject, the more he found he wanted to share that 'silly tradition' with Calleigh.

The redhead finished off his drink and left the festivities to go outside into the blackness of the Miamian night. He leaned on the railing of the yacht, staring out over the horizon and losing himself in his thoughts.

Horatio didn't realize how long he was lost in thought before he heard a feminine voice behind him.

"There you are. You went MIA for a while; what happened?"

The redhead glanced up to see Calleigh strutting to the railing of the yacht right beside him. She was wearing heels, he noticed—she seemed a bit taller than usual. "They're doing the countdown right now. There's only about five minutes left until 2013."

"I just needed some fresh air," replied Horatio as he gazed back over the horizon. "It's too stuffy in there."

Calleigh only smiled. In the many years she'd worked by his side, she knew well enough he wasn't exactly the sociable type. Yet she also recalled that he never missed the gatherings over the years. Many times—like tonight—he would be a wallflower and watch the festivities from the sidelines. It was then that she found herself wondering why he always attended. Was it because of her?

_Don't be overambitious,_ Calleigh told herself. _There's no way he came just to see me._

"How are Austin and Patty?" the lieutenant asked.

"They're doing fine. They're with my mother right now. I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've adopted them. Time really flies."

"That it does, Calleigh… That it does."

A moment of silence succeeded Horatio's words. Calleigh found herself watching the redhead beside her, watched his sapphire irises glisten in the moonlight. He was no doubt handsome, as usual. But there was just something about the way he looked tonight…

"I've noticed…" Calleigh heard herself talk without her mind's permission, "you and I have grown apart over the past several years."

Horatio's heart skipped a beat upon her words. It was almost as if she read his thoughts, as if she knew he was thinking about their past together that night. After a brief pause, the redhead softly replied, "…I've noticed that, too."

Silence briefly consumed the two adults. From inside, the blonde and redhead could hear someone shout, "Two minutes!"

"Why is that?" Calleigh asked, matching Horatio's gentle tone. "Why have we grown apart?"

"I… I don't know, to be honest." Horatio gazed back at Calleigh, gave a small grin, and added, "Well… we'll just have to work on that in 2013."

Stillness fell over the two adults once more as they gazed into each other's eyes, azure into emerald. Calleigh matched Horatio's minute smile with that of her own.

"Ten! Nine! Eight…" they heard the group chant from indoors.

"New Year's almost here," Horatio said. "You want to go back inside?"

"No…I'm just fine out here with you."

As the group counted down the final moments of 2012 inside, Calleigh found herself leaning close to the redhead beside her. As she took a step closer, she could smell the woodsy scent of his cologne. She closed her eyes, savoring this feeling of closeness to the lieutenant. She found herself drawing closer, as if Horatio possessed some unknown magnetic pull over her.

Their lips met at the stroke of midnight. Horatio closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of her temperate body pressed against his, enjoyed tasting the remnants of her strawberry martini on her lips. He brought his hand up to cradle her oval face, while she wrapped her arms around his waist.

The two finally broke the kiss when they heard fireworks crackling above their heads. The couple chuckled nervously in unison.

"I thought you said kissing on New Year's was a silly tradition," Horatio said, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Well, some traditions are meant to be kept, handsome… no matter how silly," Calleigh replied with a slight giggle.

"Happy new year, Calleigh," Horatio said, his smile still in place.

"Happy new year, handsome."

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A/N (2): Feedback is greatly appreciated. Please let me know how I did. And Happy New Year. :)


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